Here’s who, what Dak Prescott credited for Cowboys’ offensive explosive vs Jets – Jazz Monet, The Cowboys Wire
Prescott received MVP chants in a visitors stadium after playing a clean game and throwing four touchdowns in a win.
Prescott credited both Williams and the offensive line for the success. “He’s a hell of a player…” he said of Williams, “always is going to get positive yards. There’s been numbers of plays now where it should have been a negative play… He’s so strong, shakes a defender off of him, still gets a first down.”
Four linemen started in place of injured starters, a situation Prescott said few teams could handle. “There’s not many teams in the league that can put four guys who don’t start into the game and feel confident about going into and winning a game, especially on the road,” he said.
Building chemistry with Jake Ferguson
Tight end Jake Ferguson continued his strong start to the season, catching two touchdown passes and showing a rekindling chemistry with his quarterback. Prescott said their connection is built through constant communication and shared film study. “It’s always growing,” he said. “We missed that first third down… hadn’t got that look again, but I guarantee when we get it again, we score on it.”
He credited Ferguson’s physical style and consistency for making their communication and connection easy. “Jake’s just doing a hell of a job of getting open, playing nasty, just doing everything that you want in a tight end.”
Credit for Klayton Adams and the offensive staff
Prescott also highlighted offensive coordinator Klayton Adams and his staff for the team’s improved execution and edge. “Everywhere,” Prescott said when asked where Adams has helped the most. “Clayton brings a sense of intensity and focus and grit to our offense that you really can’t quantify.”
He said Adams’ attention to detail and collaboration with the rest of the staff has elevated the entire offense. “He’s a great offensive coordinator. It’s a great mix between him, Schotty, and the rest of those guys… we’ve got a great staff that, being in this a long time, I’m thankful for.”
Bucking Trends: Cowboys show us they can be a different team – Mario Herrera Jr., Inside The Star
The Cowboys not letting injuries or penalties get in the way of beating a bad Jets team was an important step in the right direction.
Injuries
In previous seasons, the Cowboys’ offensive rhythm could be completely undone by the absence of just one key lineman, most notably at left tackle.
Losing the blindside protector has often meant disaster for Dak Prescott and the passing game. We all remember Adrian Clayborn.
On Sunday, though, Dallas faced a far greater challenge than that.
They weren’t just without LT Tyler Guyton; they were also missing LG Tyler Smith, C Cooper Beebe, RG Tyler Booker, WR CeeDee Lamb, WR KaVontae Turpin, and S Malik Hooker.
That’s a staggering number of starters sidelined, and enough to cripple most NFL teams. However, this version of the Cowboys didn’t flinch.
The offensive line, anchored by veteran backups and young players thrown into the fire, kept Prescott upright and opened holes for Javonte Williams in the run game.
Prescott distributed the ball efficiently to his remaining receivers, and head coach and play-caller Brian Schottenheimer called one of his best games of the year, using motion and quick reads to neutralize the Jets’ pass rush.
For once, the Cowboys weren’t victims of their injury report; they were victors in spite of it.
Penalties
For as long as Cowboys fans can remember, penalties have been the bane of this team’s existence.
False starts, holding calls, and defensive pass interference have routinely killed drives or extended opponents’ possessions.
Even when playing well, Dallas has too often been its own worst enemy. That’s why Sunday’s performance was so striking.
Dallas was penalized 11 times for 91 yards, even more than the Jets’ 10 for 61, yet the game never felt like it was slipping away. The Cowboys didn’t allow mistakes to snowball.
Cowboys offense is greater than the sum of its parts – Jess Haynie, Blogging The Boys
Jerry Jones called Sunday’s win a “coaching win” on the road, as the Cowboys new staff seems to really be hitting a stride on offense.
Schottenheimer has these guys focused and fighting. No o-line starters but Terence Steele? No problem. Not sure about your defense going into New York? The offense is ready to take on the challenge. The spirit of this team is a reflection of its head coach, and the Cowboys are showing heart like we rarely, if ever, saw during the last regime.
But even where there’s plenty of will, you still have to find the right way. And that’s where the partnership of Schottenheimer as playcaller and Adams as the OC deserves so much credit. They’ve found the right system to get the most out of Prescott, who has never looked more comfortable, confident, and in command at any point in his career. Let’s not forget to also shout out Steve Shimko, another new arrival as QB coach, and the work he’s done to help get Prescott to this level.
Don’t forget, the QB room also had to adapt to the departure of Cooper Rush. Prescott’s primary backup for seven of the last nine years, Rush was considered like another assistant coach in how he assisted with game preparation. While Joe Milton and Will Grier are likely covering some of that ground, a lot of credit goes to Shimko, Adams, and Schottenheimer for how they’ve only made Prescott better despite all of the changes.
The quarterback play wouldn’t be so good, though, if not for how the offense line is performing. It’s one thing when you have three first-round picks out there, not to mention a third-round steal in Beebe and a veteran in Terence Steele. But when all of those guys are gone but Steele, and yet you don’t really notice much drop-off, we have to talk about Conor Riley’s work.
In his first NFL coaching job, spending about two decades in the college ranks, the former Kansas State offensive coordinator is quickly proving he belongs in the big leagues. The improved run game and solid pass protection we’d already seen this year was laudable. But last Sunday, Riley’s stock went up dramatically.
While Brock Hoffman and T.J. Bass have been here a little while, it’s still a new offense for them. Hakeem Adeniji was a bargain-bin free agent this past spring, and Nathan Thomas was a 2024 seventh-rounder who spent last season stashed away on injured reserve. But you wouldn’t know that Thomas, not Tyler Guyton, was the former first-round pick based on that game. The entire unit performed to a point that you never really missed any of the starters.
Spagnola: The why this offense keeps humming – Mickey Spagnola, DallasCowboys.com
The Cowboys went from a season-defining lack of depth on offense to a surplus in the blink of an eye, and they used all of it to win at the Jets.
Come on, all these aforementioned stats with the Cowboys missing four-fifths of their offensive line starters? Who the heck does that? And wins? Unheard of.
Now, also give big atta-boys to those three tight ends, Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker and Brevyn Spann-Ford, along with fullback Hunter Luepke. And there is no officially kept NFL game-day stats to qualify what the naked eye – mine – could see.
Something I warned about right here on Friday, further sounding alarms going into this road game since Lamb and Turpin also were unable to play, joining the four missing offensive line starters: Tyler Guyton, Pro Bowler Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe and first-round draft choice Tyler Booker.
“That is a testament to those players,” Schottenheimer said. “Next man up mentality.”
Hey coach, “next men up,” please.
With ‘em or without ‘em, the Cowboys ran for more than 100 yards in their fifth consecutive game. They hadn’t done that since 15 straight in 2016, Ezekiel Elliott’s rookie season. And Williams’ fifth rushing touchdown alone is one less than the Cowboys totaled all last year, and they already have surpassed that with seven, still 12 games to go.
Dak was sacked but once for zero yards, and it’s debatable that was really a sack since he was rolling out and decided not to throw the football, and not because of Jets pressure. New York only recorded three QB hits, three tackles for losses, and feared defensive tackle Quinnin Williams finished with but three tackles.
NFL Week 5 takeaways: What We Learned from Sunday’s 12 games – Staff, NFL.com
A good offensive line needs a running back that can make the most of it, and Javonte Williams has been that in his first season with the team.
Cowboys’ offense keeps rolling. Brian Schottenheimer’s play-calling artistry was not a first-month fluke and he proved as much Sunday, continuing to dial up creative designs and empowering Dak Prescott to push this offense forward (see: Prescott’s 43-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens over former All-Pro corner Sauce Gardner). Arguably even better was Javonte Williams‘ day, a 16-carry, 135-yard outing that included a 66-yard run to set up a touchdown pass to Jake Ferguson as part of a scoring barrage in the final minute of the second quarter that also saw Williams run for a touchdown from 5 yards out. Williams’ hard running balanced out Dallas’ offense and allowed Schottenheimer to mix things up, maintaining unpredictability and helping Dallas rack up over 400 yards of offense despite losing the time of possession battle significantly. We’ve known the Cowboys would likely need to be an offensive machine in order to contend this season, and on a rare day in which their defense stifled an opposing offense, Dallas’ scoring unit didn’t relent.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Cowboys-Jets (via NFL Pro): Javonte Williams forced seven missed tackles and gained 76 yards after missed tackles, both season highs. He also generated 92 yards after contact in the game, contributing to his 357 yards after contact on rushing attempts this season, the second-most in the NFL entering Sunday afternoon.
NFL Research: Javonte Williams became the fifth Cowboys player with five-plus rushing touchdowns in the team’s first five games of a season, joining Ezekiel Elliott, DeMarco Murray, Emmitt Smith and Calvin Hill.
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